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2013 Supreme(Del) 1741
DELHI HIGH COURT
V.K.Jain, J.
Navee @ Naveen Dogra & Other - Appellant
Versus
CBSE - Resopndent
WP(C) No. 24753-54/2005
Decided On : 21-11-2013
For the Petitioner: None.
For the Respondent: Mr. Atul Kumar, Adv.
The central legal point established in the judgment is that the requirement to submit a Court order for change of name, as outlined in the Examination Byelaws, was found to be unjustified and impossible to comply with, and therefore, was ignored by the court.
Headnote:
Change of Name - Examination Byelaws - 69.1 - Summary: The court discussed the Examination Byelaws of CBSE, particularly Byelaw 69.1, which outlined the process for correction and change of name in the records. The court found the requirement to submit a Court order for change of name as unjustified and impossible to comply with, and directed CBSE to change the name of the petitioner based on the published declaration in the Official Gazette.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner sought a direction to CBSE to change his name and his father's name in the records and certificates issued by CBSE based on a public notice and Gazette notification declaring the change of names.
Finding of the Court:
The court found the requirement to submit a Court order for change of name as unjustified and impossible to comply with, and directed CBSE to change the name of the petitioner based on the published declaration in the Official Gazette.
Issues: The main issue was the compliance with Examination Byelaws, particularly Byelaw 69.1, for the change of name in the records and certificates issued by CBSE.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the requirement to submit a Court order for change of name was unjustified and impossible to comply with, and directed CBSE to change the name of the petitioner based on the published declaration in the Official Gazette.
Final Decision: The court directed CBSE to change the name of the petitioner and issue fresh/corrected certificates based on the published declaration in the Official Gazette.
Petitioner No. 1 appeared in Delhi Senior Secondary Examination conducted by CBSE in the year 2000 and Delhi Senior School Certificate Examination held by the said Board in the year 2002. In the certificates issued to him by CBSE, the name of petitioner No. 1 was recorded as Naveen Dogroa, son of Matwar Dogra. The petitioners gave public notice in newspapers on 30.09.2005, changing the name of petitioner No. 1 from Naveen Dogra to Naveen and the name of petitioner No. 2 from Matwar Dogra to Matwar Singh. A declaration in the Gazette of India, Part-IV (Advertisements and Notices issued by Private Individuals and Private Bodies) dated October 29-Novemebr 4, 2005, was also published to the aforesaid effect. Vide letter dated 14.12.2005 received by CBSE on 15.12.2005, petitioner No. 1 sought change of his name in the record of CBSE from Naveen Dogra to Naveen with name of his father as Matwar Singh. Immediately thereafter, he filed this writ petition on 17.12.2005 seeking a direction to CBSE to change the name of petitioner No. 1 from Naveen Dogra to Naveen and the petitioner No. 2 form Matwar Dogra to Matwar Singh, along with further direction to issue certificates, as per the changed name of petitioner No. 1.
2. In its counter-affidavit, respondent-CBSE claimed that a writ petition for change of name of the petitioner without their first complying with the requirements of Examination Byelaws of the Board is not maintainable. It is further stated in the counter-affidavit that under the relevant Examination Byelaws, the change in the name has to be first admitted in the Court of law and thereafter published in a Gazette, before a request can be made to CBSE for change of the name.
3. Byelaw 69.1 of the Examination Byelaws of CBSE reads as under:-
“69.1 Changes and Corrections in Name (i) Correction in name means correction in spelling errors, factual errors, typographical errors in candidate's Name/Surname, Father's Name/Mother's Name to make it consistent with what is given in the school record. Change in name also includes alteration, addition, deletion to make it different from the school records.
(ii) Application for correction in name/surname will be considered only within two years of the date of declaration of result provided that the application of the candidate is forwarded with the following document:
(a) Admission form(s) filled in by the parents at the time of admission.
(b) The School Leaving Certificate of the previous school submitted by the parents of the candidate at the time of admission.
(c) Portion of the page of admission and withdrawal register of the school where the entry has been made in respect of the candidate.
(iii) The Board may effect necessary corrections after verification of the Original records of the school and on payment of the prescribed fee.
(iv) Applications regarding change in name/surname may be considered provided the changes have been permitted by a Court of Law and notified in a Government Gazette. In the event of Court of Judicature allowing the change of name of a candidate, the same shall be carried out by the Board after obtaining relevant documents concerning change of name published in an official gazette.” Mr. Atul Kumar, who appears for CBSE, states that the aforesaid byelaw has since been amended and the requirement under the new byelaw is that change of name is to be made first in the record of the schools in which the candidates had studied and only thereafter it can be allowed by CBSE in its record.
4. A perusal of the above extracted byelaw would show that as far as correction in the name is concerned, the same can be allowed only if the name in the record of CBSE is different from the name in the record of the concerned school. This can be allowed only within a period of two years from the date of declaration of the result and the request in this regard to be submitted with admission form, school leaving certificate and portions of the relevant page of admissio
